Ricky Ritzel News

Back to Bacharach opens July 12 at the Metropolitan Room for two shows only!

Dawn Ward Lau returns to the cabaret stage in 'F@#$in' 50!  at Don't Tell Mama tonight, May 29 at 7:30pm and Sunday, May 31 at 3:00pm. Sharing the stage will be multiple-time MAC Award-winning musical director Ricky Ritzel.

'Mama's Next BIG Act!' a 12-week talent competition that mixes styles and genres, is announcing its celebrity judges panel today. Featuring a mother lode of entertainers, critics and notable personalities, the jury pool is also reflective of the contest's diversity, pitting -- in direct competition -- solo, duo and group acts in music, magic, drag, burlesque and variety.

Help Is On The Way Today will hold its annual fundraising Gala on Sunday, May 17th, at Metropolitan Room.  

Help Is On The Way Today will hold its annual fundraising Gala on Sunday, May 17th, at Metropolitan Room.  Help Is On The Way Today is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2005 by MAC AWARD winning producer, Joseph Macchia, to assist children and youth living with HIV and AIDS. The full lineup of incredible talent has been confirmed. Solo performers include:

Dawn Ward Lau returns to the cabaret stage in 'F@#$in' 50!  at Don't Tell Mama on Friday, May 29 at 7:30pm and Sunday, May 31 at 3:00pm. Sharing the stage will be multiple-time MAC Award-winning musical director Ricky Ritzel.

Four recent shows at Don't Tell Mama featured performers either making their debuts on the New York cabaret scene (Evelyn Sullivan and Erin McCracken) or who returned this spring in hopeful anticipation of sharing their artistic vision with audiences (Rob Sutton and Eve Eaton). They no doubt experienced the usual anxiety, trials and tribulations before ultimately taking the stage. And they've come out on the other side relatively unscathed. 

Any seasoned entertainment pro will tell you that the key to success on a stage is keeping your audience happy. It also helps to throw in a bevy of show-stopping songs, parodies, and raucous tongue-in-cheek laughter along the way. Those make up only a few of the ingredients offered in the ongoing Judy and Liza: Together Again show at Don't Tell Mama (now in its fourth year) starring Tommy Femia and Rick Skye.

Cabaret Cares/Help Is On The Way Today will hold its annual fundraising Gala on Sunday, May 17th, at Metropolitan Room in the fashionable Flatiron District at 34 West 22nd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). Help Is On The Way Today is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2005 by MAC AWARD winning producer, Joseph Macchia, to assist children and youth living with HIV and AIDS.

Songwriter, performer, producer, and now activist, Bobby Horowitz, has put yet another spin on the series/variety show, with her refreshing take on the subject of 'ageism' in America. Called It's Just a Number (starting with six dates running from April to October at The Metropolitan Room), Horowitz's show theme champions the notion that age truly is just a number. Featuring a different group of cabaret's best performers for each show, the series honors a person who after the age of 50 either began a new career, resumed a career, is attempting to attain knowledge in a new field, or established a new organization with the purpose of helping people. This past Saturday afternoon, Alice Fisher, who presently serves as Director of Community Outreach in the Office of NYS Senator, Liz Krueger, was the first honoree.

It's not exactly a secret that cabaret has for decades been a world dominated by female entertainers. Sylvia Syms, Julie Wilson, Margaret Whiting, Karen Akers, KT Sullivan, Karen Mason and myriad others have assumed the top notches of the art form. But, perhaps, men might be taking their place among the front lines and a perfect example this past week were the shows from cabaret veterans Kevin Dozier and Frank Torren.

At a ceremony held Thursday night in New York, the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs announced the winners of the 2015 MAC Awards. The show was hosted by Karen Mason, with musical direction by Barry Levitt, and was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts. BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the evening below!

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs has announced the presenters that are scheduled to appear at the 29th Annual MAC Awards on Thursday, March 26th at B.B King Blues Club & Grill in New York City.

When Cole Porter wrote, 'Anything Goes,' he could have easily been referring to New York cabaret circa the 2000-sies. One of the joys of attending and reviewing cabaret shows in the Big Apple these days is that every performing style, show theme, cultural perspective, political point of view, race, gender, and sexual preference is represented on a stage. Some cabaret purists may not agree, but the genre seems to have no boundaries in terms of what is acceptable and what is not. And as long as a show is entertaining, who cares about boundaries and strict definitions of what works in the art form? Here are reviews of three recent shows from Barbara Malley, Robin Kradles, and Donna Hayes that reflect the delicious diversity that is cabaret.

After eight years of terrifically entertaining, monthly fundraisers at The Laurie Beechman Theater, Cabaret Cares/Help Is On The Way Today is on the move! The 501c non-profit organization that assists children and youth living with HIV/AIDS is relocating to new digs. The first event of 2015 will be held on January 25th at Metropolitan Room, where the charity's founder, Joseph Macchia, is the co-booking manager with owner Bernie Furshpan. Cabaret entertainer Gretchen Reinhagen will host "Lovely Ladies Of Cabaret" with Jennylind Parris, Karen Mason, Tracy Stark, and Joanna Morton Gary. Gretchen will also perform. Metropolitan Room is in the fashionable Flatiron District at 34 West 22nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

For 60 continuous hours, from 7pm on Thursday January 1 to 7am on Sunday January 4, New York's Metropolitan Room is staging what it is billing as "The Longest Variety Show Ever." Featuring approximately 160 performers and 15 emcees, the entertainment will span music, burlesque, comedy, drag, theatre/opera, magic and puppetry.

If you've been a regular reader of this particular reviewer's musings, you know that every year there are long stretches of time where I just haven't been able to critique all the shows I've seen that deserve commentary. So I end up playing what they call in sports, 'Catch-up ball,' and post a mash up of belated reviews from past shows. It's kind of like a critic's version of the song 'Six Months Out of Every Year,' from Damn Yankees. Give or take a month or two, that's usually the time period during which I store unpublished reviews in my fevered brain and then unload them all in one seemingly endless column-like this one is going to be. If my cabaret-show reviewing days will be over (as chronicled here), I might as well go out with a bang-and relieve my procrastination guilt during holiday season. Now I can scratch one New Year's resolution off the list.

THIS IS YOUR NIGHT! will honor Joseph Macchia at the Metropolitan Room on October 27, 2014 at p.m.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Jim Caruso's Cast Party, Patrick Page: Good To Be Bad, An Evening of Garland, Saycon Sengbloh, and Paulo Szot.

The Midtown International Theater Festival has announced its 2014 lineup. Details below!